


Caroline Bingley and Mr. Darcy

by Sabby



Category: General Hospital
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-04-18
Updated: 2002-04-18
Packaged: 2017-10-27 02:35:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/290725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabby/pseuds/Sabby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Premise: What if Carly had run into someone from her past after Sonny and Alexis had shown up on New Year’s Eve, 2001?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caroline Bingley and Mr. Darcy

Caroline Bingley and Mr. Darcy  
By: Sabby

 

Carly wanted to roll her eyes and make a snide comment about Sonny taking his mouthpiece out for New Year’s Eve, but decided that was what the Old Carly would have done. She had endeavored to change, to become independent. At first it was to show her soon-to-be-ex-husband that she could be independent too, if that’s what he thought was so attractive about Loony Lady Angel and Alexislut. But it had turned into the best decision ever. She liked herself more and more these days and some one in her past had said, “The key to getting it, is having respect for yourself first, and always keeping that respect at the top of the list.” She had pffft and rolled her eyes at him then but now she knew what he meant.

She looked down at her shoes, gathering her serenity—like Virginia used to tell her to do. When she looked back up she felt as though some one had sent a shock wave through the air to her heart.

There he stood, her self-respecting pariah. And suddenly she felt her feet being lifted off the floor and his arms around her and she told him how much he’d been missed and threw in his old nickname for added effect.

 

Sonny’s heart came to a bit of a stand still when he looked up and saw his wife, Carly, toasting with his mole, Zander in the Port Charles Grille’s bar. She’d looked so happy until she’d seen him. For a moment he was baffled, why would she react that way… she still loved him, she had to? When he remembered Alexis was with him it made sense once more and he hoped she wouldn’t fly off the handle and make all sorts of accusations and cause a scene.

To his amazement, and everyone else’s in the room, when she stopped studying her shoes and looked back in his direction her jaw dropped and she squealed in unchecked delight.

After launching herself across the room and into the tall, dark, and handsome stranger’s arms, her widely smiling lips uttered, “Oh, I missed you, Mr. Darcy.”

 

Alexis was a bit stunned to see Carly leap at a total stranger but more than that she felt bad for Sonny, she knew he still had feelings for his wife… oh geeze, she really should mention soon that she hadn’t filed the signed papers.

Across the bar she looked back to Zander. She left her date’s side, he wouldn’t notice, all he saw was his wife in another man’s arms, and joined her friend across the bar.

“So, what are you doing out with Carly on New Year’s Eve?” She was concerned about the amount of time he and Carly had spent together since the explosion. She didn’t want him to sink too far into Sonny’s underworld life. She wanted him to hang on to the person inside, the person he found with Emily while he’d been stashed at her apartment.

“She’s my friend, Alexis. I know that the two of you have issues—“

“She shot my client in open court, perjured herself on the stand in her son’s custody hearing, created a legal situation that could only be avoided by forcing her and Sonny to marry, and then later tried to get him to tattle to the FBI. Oh, don’t let me forget that she confessed to murdering Joseph Sorel in front of the police commissioner and all her actions caused the dissolution of the aforementioned marriage. She is not an issue I have; she is the sole generator of half the paperwork I had to deal with. Hence, I’d rather never have to set eyes on her ever again.” Alexis didn’t understand why one woman could be so much legal hassle and somehow not technically be in organized crime or prison.

“Yeah, and she saved your life and mine,” Zander said pointedly and calmly. With that he moved past her and back to the commotion Carly had created. Left alone with a scary thought, Alexis once again was glad she hadn’t filed the settlement agreement yet.

 

“What are you doing here?” Carly said ending the embrace and pushing away.

“I had business here in lovely Port Chuckles and saw you in the bar. I was on my way over to say hello when I saw you go slip into Kamikaze warrior mode and I thought I’d save you from yourself.” Carly laughed at the man with his smooth British accent. He still knew her too well, but she’d take him over the two-faced back-stabbers of Port Up-Chuck any old day. “Well, Miss Bingley, it appears I’ve succeeded,” he said tweaking her chin with his hand.

Sonny could take it no more, the damn Brit was flirting with his wife right in front of him. Damn it, he was Sonny Corinthos, he made men cower and piss themselves in fear and this idiot was trying to move in on his wife. Well, not if Sonny had anything to say about it.

Carly could ignore the others no longer when Sonny cleared his throat and stepped menacingly closer to her and Mr. Darcy. “Umm Darce, this is Sonny Corinthos, she’s Alexis Davis, and that’s Zander Smyth.” Her feelings for each obvious by the way she addressed them.

Darcy turned to the group. “Mr. Corinthos,” he said offering his hand to shake. “Mr. Smyth,” he offered as well. “And the reason for the Kamikaze mission… I assume,” he said nodding to Alexis. “Sorry for the humor Ms. Davis, but I only joke because Miss Caroline here loves the excuse to beat me up.” With that Carly whacked him in the stomach with her forearm. “See.” They both chuckled at the return of an inside joke.

Sonny, however, ended their reverie. “I didn’t catch _your_ name.” His voice was low and demanding, but Darcy let it go without comment, not without notice.

“Oh, really I thought Miss Bingley here hollered it fairly loud enough. I’m Darcy, Mr. Darcy.” He looked down at Carly who was looking at her watch.

“Miss Bingley?” Sonny queried. However, he was soon to be ignored.

“Oh, my, hmm… I’m so sorry I have got to get a move on.” Carly moved around Darcy and Sonny to the door. “It was so good to see you, Mr. Darcy.” He took her hand and kissed it as she gave a small curtsey. “Find me you _cad_ , before you leave town.” She looked around the room nodding good-bye at all those present. “Sonny, Zander, Alexis, happy New Year.” She whisked out the door and down the hallway.

Sonny turned on Darcy, livid and tense. “Who the hell are you, really?”

“Hahaha, relax old chum. No need to piss here and mark your territory. If the girl is really ours she knows it. Fabulous gal though, isn’t she?” he said looking out the way she’d gone.

Alexis and Zander saw the muscles in his shoulders bunch like a cat about to pounce. But they were saved by the breeze that sailed into the bar. Zander sighed. That was close, but he had developed great intervention techniques because of Carly… Lord she and Sonny were alike.

“I’d forget my head, ya know?” Carly raised her hands above her head and called, “Hey keep!” Her purse flew from the hands of the bartender through the air and into her waiting grip. The Brit laughed outright and shook his head. “What?”

“You still know the order,” he said obviously bringing up another inside joke smiling broadly.

“Of course. Bartender then buyer and maitre ‘d.” They grinned at one another again. And she looked at her feet. This could be a good New Year’s after all.

“I’m confused,” Zander said voicing what everyone else thought.

“Umm, the order in which one must charm men,” Darcy explained looking shy.

“Always works,” Carly said an odd grin on her face.

“Yeah,” he spoke in a whisper. Shifting nervously Darcy let the tension rise and Sonny’s mood darken, feeling it.

“Yeah well… I have to get a move on. Promised a certain gentleman I’d watch the ball drop with him.” Carly said knowing that it would calm Sonny to mention their son, Michael, and he’d let her leave without an interrogation. By the look on his face he wasn’t very happy with the way the scene was going. Her concession to him was meet with a calm nod.

“Well, he’s a very lucky fellow, all your men are my darling Miss Bingley.”

She smiled and looked down—gathering her serenity. “Hey, Dick,” she asked like a child. “You wanna see me to the curb? Give us a chance to catch up?”

Bursting into an even bigger smile, he nodded. “How about I drive you home, Caroline?”

“I’d like that.” She smiled, quietly, back at him.

“Your car or mine, dearest?” he asked a bet in his azure eyes, striking against his tan skin and black hair. Carly tossed her blonde locks as he helped her on with her dark brown coat and laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You ever going to learn to drive, luv?”

“You wanna pay my insurance?” she asked playfully as she looped her arm in his waiting one. He just laughed on their way out the door. Alexis, Zander, and Sonny stood like mirages listening to them laugh their way down the hall.

Alexis and Zander waited for Sonny to explode or chase after her.

 

Carly spent the rest of the night bundled up with Michael, waiting for Uncle Sonny’s fireworks to start. He’d refused to go inside to wait. So they drank hot cocoa and wore every blanket in the house. He had fallen asleep but Carly would never let him miss knowing that Sonny loved him so much he made him fireworks for New Year’s.

 

Sonny spent midnight chasing Courtney, his new half-sister, through the park after she had fought her way through her first Taggert encounter—courtesy of Janine, her dumb, conning mother. In the end, it wasn’t so lonely because they watched his fireworks together and bonded. She had been impressed to hear that he sponsored them for his son. Sonny may love fireworks but he loved to watch the wonder on Michael’s face when he saw them more. A few days after she had moved into Sonny’s apartment and, to celebrate, he was going to throw a dinner for her. She could invite whomever she wanted but she had to tell him the number of people. When the first guest arrived he wasn’t surprised or pleased to see Mike.

They avoided each other awkwardly until the next guest arrived, AJ Quatermaine. Courtney still hid in her room, getting ready. Sonny sighed and wanted to dash up the stairs to make sure she had really invited this scum to his home, but he didn’t trust these to men to be left alone. Mike would go into the kitchen and tamper with dinner and AJ… well who knew what Junior was up to.

 

Carly had been excited to receive a dinner invite to Darcy’s new assistant, Courtney’s house-warming dinner party. Since Dacry spent most of his time at her soon to be opened club he had his assistant with him all the time, because he didn’t really have an office in Port Charles yet. She was glad to meet new people, it kept her mind off Sonny and helped her to practice the whole new Carly she was trying to become.

Darcy said he’d pick her up since Courtney had given him directions to her apartment… that Carly didn’t drive had nothing to do with it… yeah right. When they arrived at the Harbor View Towers she was slightly daunted. Courtney had mentioned her brother was well off but not this well. When Darcy directed her to the penthouse elevator she almost ran the other way. No way was this Sonny’s little sister. It just wasn’t fair. Carly wondered if Murphy’s Law was based on her life.

 

When Johnny opened the door and called, “Mrs. Corinthos and her friend,” he thought, _Carly you had to pick the absolute worst time to show up._ Heartily afraid she was going to mix it up the moment she got through the door Sonny moved forward to turn her around before she had the chance. But Mr. Hot-Shot-British-Guy Darcy was right in front of her. He let a “great, you too,” slip out unintentionally.

“Listen Sonny, we’re not here to start anything. Courtney works for Darcy and she invited us. I had no idea until a minute ago she was that Courtney or I …” Sonny was holding up a hand. He conceded, he was simply unprepared for this. He shouldn’t have let Alexis talk him into not checking into Courtney’s employer and his associates. And the open guest list, that had been her ideas well. Alexis just may get fired for this fiasco. But before he did another thing, he had to talk to Courtney and get a few facts straight.

He turned towards the stairs and found her standing still in mid step, tears in her eyes. “I did something wrong didn’t I?” Sonny couldn’t say anything, it would come out wrong, Murphy’s Law. Before he could get it right in his head, her lip quivered and she spun, bolting up the stairs. Mike started after her only to be cut off by Sonny. He shouted down the stairs, “Keep him out of my kitchen.”

Carly knew he meant Mike and knew he meant it was her job. She rolled her eyes. “Always with the kitchen.” She sat in his office chair by the door and surveyed the new décor. She still hated it. She’d hoped that it would grow on her but all that purple-y beige puke on the walls and chronic clutter still irked her sense of style. What had the decorator been thinking?

“Well, I thought I was meet with a hostile greeting. Oh my friend,” AJ said towards Darcy. “I just want to shake the hand of the poor sucker who was dumb enough to let Carly leach onto him and piss off Sonny enough to get an even colder shoulder than me.” AJ extended his hand.

“Why the hell are you here anyway? And how did you talk Sonny into letting you stay?”

“Courtney and I are friends,” AJ said, his arm still out. “Sonny didn’t believe me at first but then he just stood and glowered. I think he was afraid to have to tell Courtney he’d kicked out one of her friends but also too worried about leaving me unguarded in his penthouse to go up and check.”

“No, AJ he didn’t want me to sneak into his kitchen and meddle with the food,” Mike corrected him.

“Your both right. Sonny wouldn’t leave either of you alone in his space. He doesn’t trust you,” Carly said emotionlessly and monotoned. She was too drained by trying to keep from killing AJ and keeping Darcy from killing AJ. She had told him all about her time in Port Chuck and he was none to pleased with certain citizens. She sent another urgent look Darcy’s way. “Do not shed blood,” came through loud and clear at the other end where Darcy knew he had to find a place amidst all the cluttered surfaces to sit on his hands.

“Oh but he trusts you, his wife… the tramp? Oh that’s rich,” he was angered by their past and the connection he had to the woman who used to be his wife.

“AJ, if you would like I could call Johnny in and have him sit on your mouth? I don’t think anyone here wants to hear you yammer.”

He mimicked her like a scolded child and turned toward the h’orderves. The silence of the room irked Carly. The penthouse needed something or some one to make it a home, again. Carly hoped Courtney could do that for Sonny. She couldn’t anymore. Their marriage was over, he couldn’t trust her, not really. She couldn’t trust him should she ever make a mistake again. That he wouldn’t shut her down, shut her out and turn her away before they tried to work through it. She couldn’t trust him not to automatically think the worst of her.

 

Sonny came down the stairs. Courtney had been crying in the bathroom but refused to let him in or talk to him. She just cried… women. Maybe he should send Carly up to talk to her. It was then he looked up and noticed that the room was short one unwanted guest. Then he came out of the kitchen wiping his hands on a towel. “Carly,” he growled.

“What you’d prefer? I tried to make it stop burning? And you said no Mike… AJ can’t cook; no Quatermaine can. Hell, their cook isn’t even reliable.” Sonny sighed, she was right. There weren’t a whole lot of options and it did smell like it had gotten a bit singed.

“Thank you,” he said to also apologizing for snapping. She nodded a “you’re welcome” at him, accepting his apology. As he crossed to the kitchen to check the damage done by the Brit. Just then the door opened to Alexis and Kristina who burst in laughingly thanking Johnny for getting the door. They sobered at the site in front of them. Carly rolled eyes. She didn’t know if the new her was ready handle this situation. To top it off Sonny had just noticed she’d stolen some of his culinary goodies from the kitchen. He made his way towards them with a glint in his eye that said, “you’re going to spoil you supper, little girl.” _Damn Corinthos,_ she miffed in her head and turned away, shielding her snack from Sonny’s grasp. He smiled at her stall tactic and turned to his new guests.

The look on Kristina’s face was one of total annoyance when she saw Carly’s presence. That girl really did a number on her upper shockra and she didn’t know why. She swung her violently red hair around and glanced at Alexis for instructions. Alexis’ eyes were too busy taking in the rest of the guests to see Kristina’s concern.

Oh, she wanted to cry. She was so fired for this one. How had she talked Sonny into this? She wanted to scream, pull out her own hair, and run babbling form the room.

Being ignored by Alexis, Kristina took in the rest of the guests. Mike Corbin, he’d been by once or twice to visit Courtney while she’d stayed with them across the hall. AJ Quatermaine, Courtney had told her about him. She had a tiny bit of a crush on that one. Kristina knew an awful lot of bad things about him because of her time living at the Quatermaine house but kept her mouth shut. Carly Corinthos, bitch extrodinaire and resident karmic black hole. Then the tall man with black hair turned and what she saw caused her to gasp and succumb to the shock waves the universe sent her direction.

The men scrambled to catch Kristina as she sunk to the ground but nonetheless her head hit with a thud, a loud, reverberating thud. Alexis yelped in surprise as her hands went into a flurrying overload. Carly watched for a moment concerned with her sudden collapse until she saw a glimpse of a glinting mischief in Darcy’s eye. Mike and Sonny carried her to the leather couch and Alexis hurried off to get a cold compress. The look in Darcy’s eye wavered getting bright then dimming several times before it became a steady glimmer.

“Never a dull moment, with Carlybabes,” AJ laughed as Darcy lunged for his throat and Carly lunged after him. She hauled him back and away from AJ with Mike’s help. Alexis, who entered a moment before, shook her head.

“Please, I detest violence as does Kristina. Could you please refrain from attacking one another until after dinner?” Alexis bent to tend her still unconscious sister.

That was it. _That_ was all the new and better Carly Corinthos could stand. She released Darcy, marched to chair where she’d been sitting grabbed her coat and her purse. Pulled both on vigorously and headed, loudly, for the door. The hell with serenity, the hell with Sonny, and the hell with Port Charles. She was going to go home pack up Michael, fire Leticia – the girl was just another of Sonny’s paid informants anyway – fly as far from this bullshit town as she could get, and start over.

“Carly, wait,” Courtney said still high on the stairs. “I didn’t mean to lie to you, well it wasn’t to hurt you. I just wanted to get to know my brother. I figured, who better to ask than his wife.” Carly stopped at the door. So she _had_ known about Carly and Sonny’s connection and had meant to manipulate it. But she hadn’t meant to hurt her.

“As a Corinthos you should know intentions don’t mean a damn thing, Courtney.” Carly spat it out to hurt them as much as she was hurting. She immediately felt awful for it. Her eyes zoned out on the door before her. The door on which she held her hand. Something told her that this was the door, the time, the place she had to choose, this was her crossroads. She had thought old Carly thoughts just moments ago. She had tried to hurt people because she was hurting. She was supposed to be better than that now. She _was_ better than that now. “I’m sorry Courtney, you didn’t deserve that. I’m not angry with you. I know you didn’t do this to hurt any of us. I just don’t think I can deal with this situation right now.”

She wasn’t sure if she had opened or closed the door. Maybe it was a little bit of both. She did know that it felt good. Somehow firm beneath her feet. She liked it.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Courtney said still somewhere behind Carly.

“It’s ok,” Carly said turning to face the girl for the first time. Their eyes held and a moment passed between them. Two little girls both struggling to feel safe, wanted, to love.

 

“Oh, Miss Kri-Kri, I’m so glad you are better. We were all so worried when you passed out. How do you feel?” His smooth upper-class British voice rang out in the silent room. No one had spoken since Carly, no one had moved.

“My goodness, is that you Milord D’Arcy?” Kristina’s voice held pleasant respect and astonishment. As she slowly sat up on the couch she registered that indeed it was he.

“Oh, no need to be so formal here. This is a far cry from the Riviera, Miss Kri-Kri. But I must say the days did not seem the same without your wondrous talents and abilities. You must call me Richard in such an informal setting.” His tone was sugar, his face charming as any fairytale prince. “Oh, how silly of me. Let me introduce you to a dear friend of mine. One you will remember quite well.” He stood up right, he had been bent to look her more directly in the eye, and held out a hand towards the door. “Miss Bingley, I would like you to come meet the psychic and chanteuse I met and have told you about.” Carly swept majestically towards Kristina. Or so it seemed as her head swam with the unbelievable fact of looking into Lord D’Arcy’s eyes again. Oh, she should have known it; Carly’s Karmic Vortex had sucked her in.

When Carly took Darcy’s hand her face froze and her shockra began to shake uncontrollably. Oh, she needed to meditate.

“This,” Carly said pointing to Kristina. “Is Miss Kri-Kri, the one who told you, I…?” Oh, it couldn’t be. It was too good to be true. Kristina was Miss Kri-Kri. “Oh Dicky, I’m afraid I’m about to be very rude.” Very rude was just the start of what she owed Miss Kri-Kri. Resolved on being the new and improve Carly Corinthos she would not simply launch into an attack. She would give the girl fair warning… but not much more.

“Darling, Caroline we can’t have that. Perhaps a moment in the kitchen would help you pull yourself together; help you gather your serenity.”

“That it might.” They left hand in hand and Kristina’s heart sunk in her chest. There would be no avoiding the reckoning the universe would want for this one.

 

“That bitch is Miss Kri-Kri. Oh please, can I tear her a new asshole or eight? The nerve of that woman. Did I tell you what she called me when she came to town. I look forward to making her eat her words.” Her opportunity to vent was definitely helping her “gather her serenity.” To bad she had to be obscene to do it.

“Are you done yet, Caroline?”

“No. What did you tell her exactly about ‘Miss Bingley?’” This was important if she was to turn this latest development to her advantage.

“Well, I told her basically the truth. Miss Bingley was the name, instead of nickname, of a dear childhood friend. One who helped me through thick and especially thin and one I had to desert after my grandmother died and I had to return to my father’s estate for schooling and assuming my duties as his lordship, Duke Wellington of D’Arcy.”

“Oh drop the accent and tell me the details of how thin.”

“I was trying to come off as the tragic love-lorn Duke. You figure it out. I didn’t tell her much about Carly if it makes you feel better.” His voice was suddenly American.

“No, Richard it doesn’t. If you told her that we got married I have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.”

“What? Does it matter? Corinthos is out of the picture, you told me yourself the marriage was over.”

“It matters a lot to me, damn it, because I still love him you big, giant, British asshole. It’s going to hurt him a lot to find out I never told him I was married before Junior.” She knew Sonny would be crushed and whatever little progress she had made of late would be worthless. He would cry betrayal again and shut her out completely. But if she were really going to endeavor to change she might as well start here. She spun on her heel and marched defiantly towards what she thought would be her execution.

The whole room had watched Kristina for an explanation. None had come. Alexis had asked many questions at first. Then AJ had piped in with questions about “Miss Bingley,” his demonic side shown through as he gleefully and greedily clamped onto anything that might make for some mischief. Courtney was upset to see that AJ could really be an ass. She had a crush on him; his sweet side had been an act, she could see that now. Oh, well, she sighed, he was too old for her anyhow. Sonny had been stunned into unparalleled silence, Mike had followed suit.

When Carly came into the room she was not a great deal calmer but her arsenal was up and every defense stood at the ready. She was prepared for war. Noticing the signs, Sonny prepared for war as well. “I trust, Miss Kri-Kri was aware of my wishes and decided to wait until I returned.” Carly spoke with royal authority and stared Kristina in the eyes until she diverted them downward.

“Of course, milady,” she mumbled.

“Good. Now, I have –” Carly was cut off by Zander’s very late arrival to dinner. Realizing at once she had called Zander’s motion towards friendship as a planned move by Sonny, she called him out once again. “Good, now that the fink is here I only have to say this once.” Zander started to protest but upon seeing the look in Carly’s eyes he quietly sat on the couch next to Kristina. “On second thought, I’m going to side track here a second. You knew, all along that Courtney was Sonny’s sister. You knew what I’d waltz into here to night. AJ, Sonny, Mike, Alexis… the whole lot. And you said nothing. You let me run headfirst into a brick wall. You let Sonny fall into the same trap as well. Why?”

“Courtney asked me not to say anything to anyone.” Zander didn’t flinch from her gaze but he wanted to.

“Why did you agree?”

“’Cause I like her… you know, like like her.”

“Ahh, I see so while she had a crush on the scum of the earth over there, you had a crush on her, so you were just going to let her find out the rough way who he really was?”

“Sonny had tried to tell her he was bad news but she didn’t listen. I didn’t want to push her away.”

“Got it. Next,” she turned to Sonny the burning embers in her eyes now a flaring fire that turned Sonny on in spite of what he knew was coming, or maybe because of it. “You ask me to realize the truth about our marriage and I do. It’s over. I ask you to let me have my independence, my freedom and some space and you say ok, but plant one of your men in my club, in my life, you threaten Jax to play nice… Hell I wouldn’t be surprised if you had Benny checking out Darcy.”

“We know he didn’t, luv, or we would have heard about it by now.”

“But I bet you wanted to, didn’t you Corinthos? What in hell gives you the right?”

“You’re my wife, I wanted to protect you. You don’t think and it gets you hurt.”

“Then maybe I should get hurt Sonny. Just maybe I would learn my lesson then.” AJ chuckled in the corner; this was great, he couldn’t have asked for a better seat for watching Carly tear apart husband number two. What sweet, fucked-up justice it was. “Shut up AJ. Darcy, you mind?” Carly threw vehement glances at both AJ and Darcy.

“A pleasure.” Darcy had wanted to help the little bugger out all night. To bad he didn’t want to miss the show or he’d really give the little ghet a piece of his mind.

“I’m not finished with you,” Carly said turning her gaze back to Sonny. “You remember that nice little talk we had all about how you can’t trust me and I can’t be with some one who can’t forgive because I am much too imperfect to never fuck-up again? Remember we singed that nice, pretty, well-typed paper afterwards? You gave it to Alexis and she filed it. It means we are no longer married. You no longer have a blank check to just make decisions about my life. You can’t send me to my room, you don’t get to say whom I can or can’t play with. Not that you ever really had that right to begin with. It’s over Sonny. You said it yourself.” Steam rose off Carly and she glowered. She wanted to throw everything thing in his face, but she knew that this was all that really mattered right now. This was all she had a right to yell at him for. The others in the room were stunned. She had a point, a rather big one. No one spoke, no one shifted uncomfortably… they were too afraid to. Lest they should draw attention and thus Carly’s wrathful fire.

“Ummm, actually,” Alexis began, afraid for her life. But she’d been afraid for her life before; she’d been Helena Cassidine’s worst reminder… that would scare anyone to death. Carly’s eyes, still bright with anger and adrenaline sought out the speaker like a heat-seeking missile.

“What do you mean ‘ummm, actually?’”

“I mean, actually your wrong.” _Oh quick back peddle, before she kills you._ “Not about Sonny’s treatment or disrespect of your wishes or any of that. You are right there. You are right that you both signed the document with all that pretty typing you described. Why, I’m not sure and it’s really none of my business and I have no idea how else to say this but to just say it so please don’t kill me I do have family to consider that would miss me very much, Kristina here is an example and I think she would be willing to tell you that she doesn’t want to lose the new big sister she just found and I’m stalling so let me just spit it out… you’re not going to get divorced because I never filed the papers.” Here Alexis squeezed her eyes shut, took a big breath, and prayed that she would be able to take another after it. A moment passed, then two. She peaked out of one eye, then two, took a deep breath. “Does this mean I get to live?” Still silence. “Ok, I take that to mean I ought to explain. Well, Sonny you will remember that when you brought the signed papers to me I told you to just save yourself a lot of time and money and rip them up. And you said ‘just file them Alexis,’ and I was going to but then I thought this is just temporary insanity. I have watched to two of you dance this dance that you do dance and you always wind up back in this penthouse, or more correctly the master bedroom—I know cause I hear you all the time. And as the proprietor of this establishment I would like to request you get thicker walls on any floor where two nymphomaniacs are housed together. I digress. Where was I? Oh yes. You always kiss or… well you make-up and I thought that the kiss and make-up portion of this particular show or dance or whatever was just around the corner and I wanted to save myself and my paralegal a lot of wear and tear and decided to just sit on the papers for a little while, you know give the two of you some time to decide if this was what you really wanted or if it was just a …a… well bit of drawn out foreplay. Then when I thought, maybe you needed the papers to get closer to finalized to push you back into whatever rhythm you seemed to be out of right now, because it was so odd for you, Sonny, to drag me off for a legal hassle I could have dealt with from the penthouse to Puerto Rico, so I got a bit worried about your mental state and Carly nearly ate me alive when we got back because of one little casino chip and I went to go find them… the papers, you know dig them out of the dark corner I had stuffed them in so Graciella wouldn’t find them and, I don’t know, accidentally file them for me… they weren’t there. Ha, imagine my surprise. So since then I have been trying to …well, break it too you gently and so you didn’t kill me.” Alexis continued to hold her breath long after she was done speaking. As a result her face looked kind of blue.

Her eyes looked rather like a deer’s in the bright beams of a head light. Darcy could hold it in no more, “Bwahaha,” he laughed trying to contain the mirth rumbling in his belly and failed. Soon his spurts of laughter became uproarious gales of it. His face was red and his knees weak. He collapsed onto Sonny’s desk in hysterics, pounding his fist on the flat top. Soon Courtney’s resolve crumbled and then Mike began to quietly chuckle too. Soon, the anger gone from her face, Carly too was racked with laughter. Sonny could not contain it either and his dimples mercilessly beguiled Alexis. Kristina alone sat still really confused.

Smiling like a fool at Sonny’s dimples Alexis said, “What, what’s so funny?” No one could respond for a few minutes longer and even Johnny looked in a bit worried.

“Ahh, now Caroline, dearest I don’t think you can top that there monologue. I would like to see you try.”

“Oh, I don’t think I can either especially given my nympho status.” At this new chuckles rang clear. Carly cleared her throat and reset her shoulders and face in a most serious fashion. “Ok, well this all has a bit to do with when I was a kid. Sonny you know Virginia and I didn’t have much money, I worked doing a lot of odd jobs, I was too young to wait tables so I mucked out stalls at the country club or cleaned the yachts in the marina. Well, this guy whose horse I used to kind of well… steal rides on caught me one day and he was your typical Pensacola, trust fund baby. I expected him to get me fired but he was nice to me, we dated, we became friends. After Charlotte died I really hated most of the places I worked, they reminded me of her. Trust-fund-boy had got me a job working with his grandmother. She’s where I learned most of my physical therapy skills. She was a great, ornery, old broad and I wasn’t going to take any of her shit and she wasn’t going to take any of my ‘lollygaging.’ It worked real well. Her grandson, Richard would come around a lot. We still dated off and on. Well, to get the point. His mother and grandmother had basically been hiding him away in the States, in part, to weasel more money from his father until he could tap his trust fund. Once his grandmother died he really didn’t want to tow either line anymore so he decided to blow all their stupid rules to bits and get his hands on his trust fund all at the same time. The best way to do that was to marry some floozy from the wrong side of the tracks and take her home to pops. I, being the broke and rebellious nobody from the wrong side of the tracks, took him up on his offer and became Mrs. The Duke Wellington of D’Arcy. When he took me home to the snotty British relatives they said they’d kick him out if I didn’t go. Cheap bastards didn’t even pay me to leave. Just gave me a ticket and made me sign some dumb papers. Pretty much to the effect of the ones Alexis lost, I’ll bet. Never heard from or saw Darcy again… until New Year’s. It had been like the whole thing never happened. Even Virginia refused to talk about it. Can’t say I blame her. We were only married about eight weeks and I was only eighteen.” Carly waited her head down too afraid of what would be in Sonny’s eyes to look up.

“Now’s my turn, chum,” Darcy said throwing his arm over Carly’s shoulder. “And this is the funny bit. After the righteous family O’Wellington liberated me of my so unsuitable wife I was kept from writing to her or even seeing to it that she at least had a proper situation in the world; a good job and all that. Finally the day comes when my very righteous and dignified Grandfather, and head of the family, dies. All the paper work that comes out of his secret vault is sorted through and put in more public places. One of the family attorneys, years later mind you, comes across it and discovers it null and void. Thus our marriage that never happened did happen. Isn’t that a riot?” Darcy laughed loudly and alone. “Well, I, of course, had been looking for my Caroline since the old bird’s death but couldn’t find her anywhere. When I got this bit of news I went absolutely ape trying to find the girl. When I finally did, I had to figure out how to tell her that her marriage to you, Sonny, was a joke cause ours was still legal. But this bright thing here did that bit of work for me.” He tweaked Alexis’ chin and winked at her. “Oh, thank you, luv. Isn’t that story a gas, now I’m starved. Since Sonnyboy here burned all the food in his kitchen what say you to the Grille?” Darcy addressed the room as a whole and didn’t see the sharp elbow jab headed at his stomach.

“You prattling ghet,” Carly hollered as she stepped away from him. He looked at her amazed, physical abuse had been a possibility but he thought just maybe they’d be happy to have their marital dilemma solved. Wrong guess, Alexis could have told him that. He had been trying to tell her the truth about their ill-advised marriage since he saw her at the Grille. He knew she’d be pissed that their marriage was still legal, he just hoped it wasn’t pissed enough to land him in the hospital. As he pondered how to solve his unique situation he watched Carly retract her right arm and deck him with her killer right cross.

As Darcy sank to the floor, the second to lose consciousness that night, Carly felt slightly vindicated. But she was still scared to death of Sonny’s reaction to it all.

 

Sonny had trouble believing Carly was really telling him this in a room full of people. How could he react? Ok, so she had dated other guys, he knew that. Hell, Jason was his best friend. For Christ’s sake he knew he wasn’t the first, and her experience drove him wild in bed so where on earth was this story going?

Then suddenly he saw. She’d married that damn Brit to get out of the trailer park, she’d married a Duke so she could never be called white trash again… only to be completely dismissed by his family. His heart broke, he loved her trailer or no trailer. Tears began to form in his eyes at the sound of her voice, they had hurt his baby… they would pay. Why wouldn’t she look at him? He had to see her eyes to see how much they had hurt her, to see how much more he had to love her to make up for all those idiots who didn’t. That was the best part. He got to love her more.

Duke Dofuss D’Arcy wouldn’t shut up about how much they had hurt her either. Did he get that he was just waving a big red flag at a very angry bull saying, “Oh, kill me, kill me!”… Sonny didn’t think so. Then another one came. Wham! Right over the top of his head. This rambling, British pretty-boy was married to his wife and he wasn’t? Oh heads would roll now.

But before he had a chance to react Carly had downed the bastard in two hits. God, he loved her. What a woman.

Courtney had no idea what to say, what to do. This was way more information than she ever expected to get out of tonight.

Let’s see first there was:  
Don’t call Carly “Carlybabes” on front of Mr. Darcy.  
Mr. Darcy was really Duke Wellington or Lord D’Arcy (but she’d suspected that from some of his correspondence).  
Don’t remain in close proximity to Carly when she’s pissed.  
Sonny’s reactions are never predictable.  
Alexis has no idea how to breathe.  
Kristina’s a lot weirder than she thought.

And now her boss was out cold on the floor.

Mike was so confused. He always had trouble reading his son but this was tougher than normal. If he didn’t know better he’d say Sonny loved Carly more because of this confession. Instead of seeing it as a lie of omission and a betrayal. Could he—naaaaah.

 

Zander was thanking his lucky stars Carly had lit into some one else. He was very afraid she was going to literally cut him up into pieces before she had turned on Sonny as well. Then he feared for his boss’ life. Why they had all laughed so hard he wasn’t sure but Alexis sure could fit a lot of words into one breath. He wondered if his jaw made a thudding sound as it hit the floor when Carly explained how she had been married to someone before that ass, AJ. He almost fell of the couch when Darcy explained how they were still married and jumped when Carly knocked him out. What a right cross… for a babe. All in all he really hadn’t had time to be worried about whether or not Courtney had caught his confession to like, liking her. He really didn’t want her too. He knew that once all this stuff settled and Sonny and Carly had time to process all the information here tonight, he was a very, very dead man.

 

As the tale unfolded before her Alexis’ heart when out to Sonny. And to herself. Good God, the legal work this was going to entail. Because of course Sony would have to marry her to divorce her and give her the proper settlement in an indisputable way and la la la la la. _Carly!_ One of these days she was going to quit. Really quit. Oh, who was she kidding. She liked the legal mess these two were always tangled up in… it was the only real challenge she got in her line of work.

 _Oh ouch, add assault to that list. Maybe I should get Carly to teach me self-defense._

 

Kristina knew most of what Carly...er the Duchess of Wellington was saying but didn’t understand why the others in the room didn’t, especially if her maiden name was Caroline Bingley. Her heard hurt, she needed some jasmine. Now her lower shockra was complaining loudly as well. She still couldn’t figure out how to explain that when she had met Jax, by way of Angel, she had been employed as a clairvoyant and chanteuse for the privileged up and own the coast of France.

 

Sudden guilt landed on Carly with a thud and her hands flew to her face as she gasped. She had really hit Darcy … Hard? _Opps. So much for gathering my serenity. Adios new and improved self. Hello irrational bitch._ Carly crouched next to Darcy and fretted over his bleeding nose. “Oh, well shit.” She took in a hissing breath. “Damn,” she mumbled. “You could have given me a little warning. Dropping bombshells like that, and on top of everything else. Oh, Richard, really bad call.”

Mike, worried about the volatile situation, handed her a red kerchief and she was tending his bloody nose. “What did you expect me to do? Squeal with glee after you yank my rug out from under me?”

“I didn’t expect you to still have such a good right cross,” he groaned coming to. “You must have kept in practice.”

Carly stood up and threw the red bandana at him. “Yeah, I make it a point to deck someone every week. When were you gonna tell me my life was twice the lie I thought it was?” Her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing with anger and pain. Sonny watched her try to deflect the shock and pain with attitude. He fought to keep his hands at his side. Alexis, Zander, Courtney, and Mike—long forgotten—tried to process the scene before them. Kristina, however, was trying to meditate on the couch, to get answers on how to handle the situation from the universe. Dacry’s face felt like it had exploded around his eye. For a moment he pondered the thought that she had broken something. Even if it was just his ego.

What had he been thinking, that was a good question. “Good question,” Darcy groaned standing up to face his accuser. “I thought that you might be glad to have the whole thing solved.” He continued in his American accent. “Sexy Lexy over there lost the papers. But it doesn’t matter because the marriage is void anyway. You are the one who said he asked you back but it wouldn’t work because he can’t forgive. You are the one who said ‘Darce, I just need this to end so I can move on.’ If I thought your marriage had a chance I would have annulled it and Sonny wouldn’t have had to know. You could have kept up the pretense of breaking up to get back together. It was stupid, it was lame. But it was for you. He’s an ass. He’s been awful to you. I liked it when you were the Duchess of Wellington. I’ve never had so much fun. So I guess I want you back. Maybe that’s why I came up with so many dumb, lame excuses not to tell you for so long. So …”

“How can you,” Carly said, her insides knotting and double knotting. “After everything I’ve told you since you showed up here think that?” She had told him how much she loved Sonny, wanted Sonny, missed Sonny.

Sonny filled with fear. This man wanted to take his wife. This man who had hurt her wanted her to go to him. To turn herself over to be hurt again. _Wait, that’s exactly what I want._

“I can trust you, I can forgive you, I can let you in my life… all the way.” He was baring his soul to a room full of near strangers in hope that Carly would take him to husband again. “I can defend you, I—”

“Bullshit,” Carly spat, cutting him off. “You didn’t defend me. Your family waltzed allover me. Do you remember that? Huh, Dicky? They called me all sorts of names. American strumpet, that was my personal favorite.”

Sonny was ready to explode, he’d been trying to keep his cool in his position behind Carly but it had been too much. She was in pain. This prick had hurt her the same way he had. He had failed at all the things Dukey had professed he could do. Now he wanted to take his wife away. He already had undone their legal union. But they were still husband and wife in the eyes of God. _Fuck the laws of men. I still have a right to protect my wife._

“Then you let them send me home. You let them tell you not to talk to me, even to apologize for using me to get back at your family.” Carly shifted her anger gaining validity in her passion.

“You knew what was going on well before it was final. You agreed, we made a deal,” he defended himself.

“I was a kid Darcy. I was a kid dazzled by money, something I never had. Power, prestige, respect. But you let me down, you lied. You should have known better than to think they would let me stay. You were responsible for that hurt.”

Darcy wanted to explain how they had held his trust fund, how if he stayed married to her they would have been worse off than she and Virginia had been in Florida. That if he contacted her, if even tried, they would send him packing from the family. He didn’t get the chance. Feeling that Carly’s semi-rant of injustice was his warrant to dispose of Darcy Sonny pressed past her, snatching Darcy’s collar dragged him to the penthouse door and threw him out. He spun and returned to Carly, enveloping her in his arms.

Darcy stood flabbergasted. Stuck on the outside with Johnny staring him down so vehemently he thought he might disintegrate.

Back inside, Carly was too shocked to do more than react to Sonny’s actions. Everyone else was too shocked to move. They stood like statues still watching what played out before them. Kristina, however had contacted a high Buddha and was conversing with him in the great void of spirits. Sonny thanked God when he felt Carly’s arms come around him, accepting him home to the place he needed, loved missed more than the peace she brought his torrent soul… her heart. Carly didn’t think, didn’t try. She was hurt by the memories Darcy had brought to the surface to night, by Zander’s actions, AJ’s presence, by her own actions. But it all melted away. Like ruffled wing feathers smoothed for flight.

She couldn’t let herself fly again, the fall was too far. She pulled away. She went to leave, half reached the door when Sonny called for her. His voice rough and raw with desperation. She turned to him, frozen in her spot by the pain, longing, and regret in his eyes. Tears came to the both of them. They stood seeing each other’s souls’, oblivious of Courtney and Alexis ushering the group out of the penthouse to give them their privacy.

“Carly,” Sonny’s ragged voice called out again. “Please,” he prayed and yearned out loud, sinking to his knees. Carly went to him unerringly. He grabbed her around the middle and laid his head on her belly. His arms held her tightly as Carly’s wrapped lovingly around his dark head. She bent her own to his, kissed his crown, and placed her cheek to the soft curls. He cried. Knowing that he had gotten her back this far, the rest would be just as painful and just as amazingly beautiful to his soul.

When they both stopped crying, Sonny reluctantly pulled away and stood only to capture her again. This time, rubbing the muscles he was sure were sore from her prolonged and oddly angled position, he placed his mouth at her ear. “I have a lot I need to say to you. I need you to hear it, not just listen but hear me. So that you know what I’m saying.” The importance of what he had started with those words sunk into her body and she shivered. Feeling her quiver, he stopped his massage and wrapped his arms tightly about her shoulders. “I’m going to fumble a bit, you know I’m not good with this stuff. I hate communication.” Sonny sighed. “I didn’t really trust you, I didn’t really let you all the way in, I didn’t defend you, but I loved you. And I did forgive you. I forgave what happened with Mike and the money, I forgave us for Jason, I forgave God for taking our baby. I didn’t realize that’s what it was but it was forgiveness.” Sonny cleared his throat, willing the powerful memories away so he could say this. So it could be over. So it could start.

“I couldn’t get past what happened, all of it. The Feds, Angel, Sorel, Alexis, AJ, Michael—it all just piled up on me and I didn’t know how to sort through it. How to get back to the place where it was just you and me and Michael and we were happy. It’s like this curse or some desert scourge took over and we disappeared. You weren’t acting like you and I wasn’t acting like me and we both just pushed, thinking if we just kept at it we’d get back to somewhere where it made sense. But we didn’t we just got deeper. When you stopped pushing I got confused. We had been stuck for so long in this limbo, moving like zombies, that I just didn’t know which way was out. Then I realized that you had found it. You forgave me for all the stuff I did to you. The disrespect, shutting down, Angel. I saw that tonight with Darcy, I saw what I was really doing and I don’t know how you can still love me after some it.” He felt her move beneath him as if to speak so he squeezed tighter. “Shhh, no I’m not done. What I’m getting at is that I’m sorry. For letting this go on so long, for all the pain I caused you because I was too dumb to see what was in front of me. I was too stupid to see that I forgave you. I didn’t forgive me.

“Ever since the explosion, I kept thinking just grab her… the rest will figure itself out. And then the shit from the sky just kept falling and it put us further and further apart. I let it happen. I let Sorel get the bomb into the penthouse. I left you alone so he could hurt you. I let the myself get stuck on nothing until it was too late. Until you decided I wasn’t enough. I knew I wasn’t, I knew I didn’t deserve you so I let the shit get deeper. Even when I tried to get you to came back, I didn’t really. ‘Cause you were right to want to leave me—”

Carly yanked away from him, unable to stay silent. “The hell you are, the hell I was. Sonny – Don’t ever say that. I don’t know if –”

“Baby, please, I don’t think I can finish if you start going.” Carly stared into his eyes, willing a sense of worth into them. He felt her love, he felt her forgiveness, he felt her cherish him. Too overcome to look into her eyes anymore, he crushed her body to his once again. “I… I … just wanted to save you from the monster. The thing in me that destroys, the thing in us that self destructs. But I couldn’t, and you couldn’t. We both burnt down what we are and had to rebuild it all new. You have become even more strong and beautiful. Even more of a miracle. I just wallowed in the ashes and watched this phoenix rise into the sky. You got so high I didn’t think I could reach you. But I think I can, I want to. I’m so close.”

“But you still can’t trust me?” The hurt and the hope in Carly’s voice struck him and he smiled into her hair.

“I won’t audition for the part of your husband,” he used her words. “I am your husband.”

“Oh, Sonny no, you’re not. Not any more, after what Darcy said tonight we were never married, it was all a lie.” Carly’s voice sang of tears and sorrow as she spoke.

“Remind me to thank him. No, wait I’m not done,” he said as she took a deep breath to speak. “We are married Carly. We were married before God, in his church. In his eyes we will always be married. Our vows will always stand.” Sonny’s heart lifted, God had given him the strength to pull himself from the ashes, now he had to see if his wings were strong enough to fly.

“But Sonny I broke my vows to you, to God.” She kept looking for the loophole, too afraid to trust and be happy, too afraid of being shot out of the sky again.

“So did I, long before you did. I didn’t honor you, Carly. I treated you like a child, it was to protect you but it was wrong. I’m sorry, I don’t want to do it any more.” He spoke the truth. It had been wrong of both of them to do what they’d done to one another. But if they could forgive themselves and each other then it would work. They could fly together, the whole way this time.

“Does that mean you won’t?”

“If you try not to, I will try, too.”

“But Sonny they were promises, vows, and we beat them with big, ugly sticks. We beat each other. And I lied to you, again. I never told you anything about Darcy or the Wellington mess.”

“So you can’t trust that I can change? Carly none of that matters, I know you had your reasons for not telling me. If you want to tell me what they were and the long version of what happened, I’d want to know because it’s about you. But I want you more than I want to hold on to your very distant past.” He waited but she didn’t say anything. She couldn’t, she was too stunned. She’d messed up again. And he was just over it? Just like that? “Now, Caroline, we get to rebuild us. From scratch. We get to start over, and we get to make our marriage into anything we want. Together. What do you want?”

“Us.”

For the both of them that said it all. It would take time, hard work, and lots of the communication that Sonny loathed but it would be worth it. In the end they would have a refined steel fortress for a marriage, instead of the house of trick cards they had started out with. Still wrapped tightly in each others’ arms, as if to crush them into one being Carly asked, “Why am I supposed to remind you to thank Darcy?”

Sonny smiled, “I’ll tell ya later,” and pulled her closer.

The End and The Beginning


End file.
